Discussion

Temptations - Indian Chinese on Castro, Mntn View

Preface: I've been long fascinated by the Indianized Chinese food after hearing Indian friends complain that Chinese food here is nothing like Chinese food in India. They bemoan the lack of the 'Chili' and 'Manchurian' dishes. I had it once in NYC (takeout). It was tasty, but suffered the same greasiness problem common to takeout Chinse.

Anyway, I tried 'Temptations' in Mountain View. Had the Chili Chicken and really liked it, so I'm recommending it here. The menu is divided into Chinese and Indian. My dish was from the Chinese section. My companion had the seafood curry (I think it was) from the Indian menu. It was pretty standard. I had the ras malai for desert which was also OK (but unremarkable).

So, if I was returning (which I totally would), I would only order from the Chinese side of the menu. It's a tad pricey especially considering the Indian stuff is so unremarkable.

A lot of my Indian co-workers go to Spice Hut for the Indian-style Chinese and say it is pretty authentic. It is fast food, mostly in steam trays, although some things like dosas are made to order. For what it is, the food is pretty good.

Hot and Sour Soup - Very tangy, not too spicy, this concoction had finely chopped cabbage, shredded chicken, green onion, as well as an abundance of soy sauce and red chili sauce. What ticked me off a bit was the surplus of *blood red* food colouring. I don't know why there is an insurmountable need to add colour to food. I digress, though.

Sitara on Lawrence and Homestead has an Indian-Chinese Buffet on Friday nights. Pretty decent fare -- you should go early though (buffet starts at 6 p.m.) because by 8:30 the food starts disappearing, is cold and not very appetizing; service quality declines, too, by then.

I ordered Singapore noodles, knowing that this dish is easily prepared but should show off both the place's ability to combine ingredients and their ability to balance.

What a disappointing dish: I might as well have been handed a plate with five piles on it: the noodles, the turmeric, the overcooked little chicken dice, the carrots, and the green onion. Then I could have poured over a large quantity of overheated vegetable oil to simulate Temptations's preparation, got up, and walked away.

I've found that "Singapore noodles" is ambiguous about whether it will be Singapore mee or rice sticks. The noodles in this case were an unremarkable wheat type, broken into pieces about the width of my hand. They were fully cooked, but not gummy.

I don't think this dish displayed any potential whatsoever, so I am unlikely to give Temptations a second visit.

We've tried Temptations, Passage to India and Spice Hut. We felt tempations was closest to Indian Chinese as we remember it, though it still had a way to go. Toronto surprisingly has great Indian Chinese if you ever visit!